


May, 2009

by Untoward



Series: Time is Nothing [1]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Time Travel, time traveller’s wife au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22085536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Untoward/pseuds/Untoward
Summary: Time Traveller’s Wife AU. Ben suffers from a genetic condition that causes him to travel through time and Callum seems to be a big event that he is constantly drawn too.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: Time is Nothing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589713
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	May, 2009

_May, 2009 (Callum is 17, Ben is 31)_

Ben let out a sigh of relief when he materialised in the garden. He felt the soft grass underneath his feet and felt the warm, spring air and he was thankful.

Thankful, that he didn’t end up in some back alley in East London where he had to spend his time having a fist fight with some lads, naked. Thankful, that he didn’t end up in the middle of a busy high street where he would end up being detained for public nudity. Thankful, that it wasn’t the height of winter and he had to break into someone’s house to make sure he didn’t end up with hypothermia.

He may have been thankful, but he wasn’t all too happy to have been ripped away from his living room when he was. He had left in the middle of a very heated argument, and he still felt a little angry when he thought back to the fight. How was it fair that Callum got the last word when he was being pulled out of the living room against his will?

Ben peered behind the tree to find a picnic blanket laid out on the other side of the garden, like it always was. A box of sandwiches,  _probably egg mayo_ , and Callum sat with a text book in his lap, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. His hair was flat and covered with a beanie and his face was covered in acne but he had come a long way since Ben was last here. From his gap toothed smile and colouring books, begging Ben to help him colour and being so impressed when he stayed between the lines. Ben was almost disappointed that it wasn’t a younger version of Callum, he had to already deal with his stubbornness, he couldn’t be asked for more.

“I know you’re back there,” Callum said, still concentrating on the text book in front of him. “You can come out.”

“Close your eyes.” Ben said sternly, and he saw Callum’s face flush red but he soon closed his eyes.

Ben made his way to the pile of clothes that were neatly folded and placed on the blanket and pulled them on as quickly as possible. When he finished he looked up to see Callum had opened his eyes, but they were still focused on the text book.

“I thought I told ya to close your eyes?” Ben said with a bit of an edge to his voice.

“I did,” Callum mumbled and started to highlight something in his book. “I just opened them again.”

He looked up at Ben and gave him a cheesy grin, and Ben rolled his eyes and sat on the blanket, picking up a sandwich and biting into it. He didn’t say anything more, he just ate his sandwich and tried to relax but he couldn’t stop thinking about the argument. Couldn’t stop replaying it in his head. It was the same as always, Callum being annoyed at Ben’s dodgy dealings and Ben trying to justify them.

_“It’s not like I can hold down a regular job with my condition, Callum, you know that.” He had tried to reason, touching the back of his head._

_“That doesn’t mean you get to break the law.” Callum said sternly and Ben let out a laugh._

_“So, when I’m breaking into someone’s house in the middle of the night or stealing someone’s wallet, that’s not breaking the law?” Ben raised his eyebrows at him._

_“That’s different, and you know it.”_

_“Oh, come off it, Callum.” He took a deep breath. “We need money somehow - “_

_“I keep on telling ya I can provide - “_

_“And I keep on telling ya I won’t have that!”_

It had gone on for a little longer before Ben had disappeared. He sighed before chucking the crust of the sandwich back into the box and bringing his hand up to his forehead, trying to get all the creases out. It was an argument they had before and it will be an argument they have again and Ben can’t bring himself to think about that right now, but that was all his mind was doing.

“Are you okay?” Callum asked, his textbook now lax on his lap. “Ya seem like you’re overthinking.”

Ben looked at him, and he let out a small smile. He shouldn’t be acting this way in front of this Callum, this Callum hasn’t done anything to annoy him. At least, not yet. So Ben gave him a genuine smile and nodded his head.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay, I just,” Ben took a deep breath. “Just had a bit of an argument with someone before I came, that’s all.”

Callum nodded his head slightly and looked Ben up and down, seeming to take him all in before opening his mouth. “Ya look older than the last time you were here.”

Ben let out a laugh at that. “Oh, cheers mate. I appreciate that.”

“No I,” Callum let a smile grace his lips. “I just mean more mature, like you’ve got ya life together.” 

“Really? It’s not the grey hair or the wrinkles that have been added to my eyes?” 

Callum bites his lip to stop a smile forming on his lips but he can’t help it, and soon he’s smiling at Ben. The same smile he gets when it’s a Sunday morning and they get to spend their time in bed instead of worrying about work. The same smile he gets when Ben hasn’t travelled in a few weeks and they get into a false sense of security that maybe he won’t travel ever again. 

“Trust me, just because I look older doesn’t mean I have my life together.” Ben says sincerely. 

Callum nods his head slowly and picks up his highlighter, going back to the book in front of him. 

“That argument you had,” Callum ask’s quietly, “was that with your - “ he pauses and Ben raises an eyebrow at him “with your boyfriend?”

Ah. That’s why he was being hesitant. Callum told him when they met in real time that he’s had a thing for him since his teenage years, but never said anything out of embarrassment. This Callum doesn’t know the future they hold, not that he hasn’t asked before. He knows they know each other, but he’s determined to find out how old he is when they first meet, where they meet, how they meet. Ben’s reply is always the same, _“You know I can’t tell ya that.”_ It frustrates Callum to no end, but it’s the right thing to do. 

“Um hm.” Ben nods his head in reply to Callum’s question. “Husband, actually.” 

Callum just nods his head slightly, but there is a frown playing on his lips. He starts to highlight something in his book, but as he goes over it he puts more pressure on the felt and soon there is ink all over his textbook. Ben reaches over and places his hand over Callum’s to stop it from moving across the page.

“Hey,” Ben says gently, rubbing his thumb across the back of Callum’s hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just,” Callum shrugged his shoulders, his breath hitching a little “I just thought, in the future it might - “ he had to stop himself, taking a deep breath. “It might be me.” 

Ben nods his head slightly, and turns over Callum’s hand so his palm was facing upwards. He interlocks their fingers and Callum grips on to him tightly. Callum looks up at Ben with tears in his eyes and Ben thinks it’s time. It’s time he knows something. He doesn’t give him much, but it’s enough.

“Who said it ain’t?” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. You can find me on tumblr at [babygaycal](https://babygaycal.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I’m working on a sister act au at the moment, but request for this universe are open. Please leave your thoughts.


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